It has been recognised that the thickness of such bats is important from the point of rigidity and for a good striking feel but, of course, consideration has to be had to the mass of the bat as well as its balance.
Thus, it has previously been proposed to provide a bat which includes a handle and head, the head including an unstressed monolithic perforated structure and having a pair of spaced-apart lattice structures, the two outer surfaces of which constitute the striking surfaces and the inner surfaces being joined together by a plurality of discrete transverse struts.
In this specification the term "lattice structure" (or lattice) is intended to refer to lattice or grid structures thin in relation to lengths and breadths, which are perforated by a series of openings of a variety of shapes. In a particular form of the invention the structure is a lattice comprising intersecting laths, which may be straight, curved or otherwise shaped and which may intersect at various angles.
In a preferred form of the invention the two spaced apart lattices are formed by intersecting laths and are joined by means of discrete transverse struts spanning corresponding intersections of the laths, as well as the outer frame or rim of the head of the bat which runs around the periphery of the lattices and to which the handle is attached.
Further, according to the invention, some of the interstices in the latticed striking surfaces may be webbed and it is further preferred that alternative interstices be webbed to constitute a checkered pattern.
This bat has a striking head which can be described as being of double lattice construction--the outer faces of the two lattices constituting the striking faces.
This construction enables the head of the racket to be relatively thick in construction, much of the rigidity being imparted by the depth or width of the "frame" running around the periphery of the striking head.
The interior of the bat is relatively hollow--apart from the internal cross struts and is therefore relatively light. A bat of this construction is covered by U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,427.